Physicists for Inclusion in STEM is planning a three-day trip to visit the Laser Interferometry Gravitational Observatory (LIGO), the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and the Hanford Nuclear Site. Previously, the largest events we put on are events that unite the community to connect and decompress. Examples include game nights, crafting meetups, and Bad Physics Movie Nights. The last two years, PhIS has sent students to the Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP), a research and career development conference put on by the American Physical Society. Our experiences there inspired us to plan our own event to help students connect with physicists in the field and learn more about post-baccalaureate jobs and research. We are aiming to raise 1000$ to cover transportation and lodging during this trip. We plan to have stretch goals, as that would allow us to bring more people!
As a National Laboratory, PNNL has hundreds of active projects across several disciplines. Physicists at PNNL research nuclear & renewable energy, quantum computing, and material sciences. Several Western Alumni work at PNNL, and we are excited to talk to them about where their paths took them after graduating from WWU.
Dr. Svenja Fleischer, an assistant professor with WWU's Physics Department, has an ongoing project with LIGO to stop condensation on the Interferometer's lenses. A few members of the LIGO team have already visited their compatriots, but the rest of PhIS is super excited to see what Leah, our vice-president, has been working on!
The Hanford Nuclear Site is where 16 plutonium and uranium nuclear reactors were in action from 1943 to 1989. Lack of knowledge regarding nuclear waste disposal caused a slow building large-scale environmental disaster that we are still dealing with today. The current site is dedicated to hazardous waste cleanup as we deal with liquid and solid waste from almost 50 years of production. We feel that visiting the Hanford Nuclear Site will allow us to study the past and view the negative side effects of an incredible advancement in physics.
Our 2023 trip to CUWiP, hosted by University of Washington
Our LIGO team! From left to right: Dr. Svenja Fleischer, Veronica Russ, Oliver Del Rio, and Leah Vizmeg.
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